


The Clues

by thebluesideofmyworld (myblueworld)



Series: It's About The Small Things [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Mortal, M/M, Percy and Leo and Jason were oblivious, Secret Relationship, and of course it's the girls who connect the dots, not exactly secret though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:48:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27297415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myblueworld/pseuds/thebluesideofmyworld
Summary: The five times when Nico's friends should have realized that he had a boyfriend. And the one time when his sister asked him about it.(Hint: not all of them realized it, though. At least, not Percy.)
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Series: It's About The Small Things [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2004487
Comments: 29
Kudos: 370





	The Clues

**Author's Note:**

> So YEARS ago, I read a fic from another fandom on livejournal, titled The Power of Deduction. I really loved the fic, but unfortunately, the writer deleted their livejournal account, so I couldn't give the link to said fic. Anyway, I got the inspiration for this one-shot from that fic. I hope that you guys will like it :)

*******

_**[1. the keychain]** _

Leo didn’t usually go shopping with Nico. But somehow, Nico was the only one available to drive him that day. And Leo was desperate. Calypso’s birthday was tomorrow and Leo knew that if he didn’t come up with a great present, he might just have to say goodbye to any chance to date the girl that he’s been crazy about for the last few months.

After almost an hour, Leo decided that the scarf that he was holding was decent enough for a birthday present. Holding the paper bag with the scarf in it, he looked for Nico. He found his friend standing in a corner, near a stand that held various keychains. As Leo walked closer, he saw that Nico was holding a yellow sunflower keychain, examining it closely.

“You like that one?”

Nico startled, and quickly put the keychain back.

Leo chuckled. “It’s okay,” he said. “If you like it, you can buy it, you know. I mean, it doesn’t really suit your doom-and-gloom aesthetic. But it’s still a cool one.”

Nico shook his head. “No… No… It’s just… It’s reminded me of someone.”

“Well, whoever that person is, now you know what to get them for Christmas.”

Nico huffed and ran a hand over his hair. “Whatever, Valdez. You got what you want?”

Leo grinned, and lifted up the paper bag. “Yup. Got it.”

“Okay. Let’s get out of here, then.”

*******

_**[2. the sweatshirt]** _

“What do you want, Percy?!”

Percy returned Nico’s glare with a grin. A grumpy Nico that woke up earlier than he really had to wasn’t something that unfamiliar for him.

“Hey, don’t kill the messenger,” he said. “I’m here because my mom sent me. She wanted to cook that Italian rice thing-“

“It’s called _risotto_.”

Percy shrugged his shoulders. “You know what I meant. But she’s running out of a few ingredients so maybe you can lend us some?”

“Why can’t you go and get it from a supermarket as any normal people would do?”

“And risk myself of getting the wrong stuff?” Percy grinned got just a bit wider as he showed a small piece of paper with Sally’s neat handwriting on it. “Please?”

Nico groaned but he snatched the paper from Percy’s hand. “You’re lucky that I love your mom,” he mumbled as he turned around and walked away from the door.

“Well, what can I say? _Everybody_ loves my mom,” Percy said as he invited himself in. He let the door closed with a soft click behind him. As he followed Nico to the kitchen, he felt like there was something different with his cousin. He took a seat on one of the high stools by the kitchen island. Percy scrunched his brows as he watched Nico who was going through his cabinets.

“Hey, Nico. Are you losing weight?”

Nico glanced at Percy over his shoulder, and went back to pull something from his cabinet. “I don’t think so. Why do you ask?”

“That sweatshirt looked way too big for you.”

Nico quickly turned around. He seemed more awake now than before with his wide eyes staring at Percy. “What?”

That’s when Percy realized what it was that made Nico look different. “Oh! I know! Maybe because you got yourself the wrong size for the sweatshirt. You can still return it if you want to.”

Percy was pretty sure that the sweatshirt was new, as he knew that Nico’s clothing palette was ranged from black to dark grey. So a fluffy sky-blue sweatshirt was _definitely_ something new.

Percy watched in amusement as Nico’s cheeks quickly turned into dark cherry color.

“Hey, relax, dude! It’s okay to try something new. And that color looks good on you!”

Nico mumbled something that Percy didn’t catch, but then he shoved a paper bag to Percy.

“Here. Everything’s in the bag. Now get out of my apartment.”

*******

_**[3. the dog]** _

It was a nice afternoon in September. It wasn’t too cold yet, so Annabeth decided to sit in the park with her coffee and her new book. It was one of the rare times when she finished early with her project, so she had a bit of spare time before she had to deal with another client.

She was turning another page of the book when she heard a familiar voice.

“Hey, not so fast, girl!”

Annabeth lifted her head up, and turned to where the voice came from. And she saw Nico. It was a pleasant surprise, to see Nico. But to see Nico chasing a dog? That’s also a pleasant surprise, but totally unexpected.

As if on cue, a corgi stopped in front of Annabeth. The dog stared at Annabeth with the cutest expression, Annabeth couldn’t help herself from chuckling and bent down to give the dog a pet. She lifted her head back up when the sound of footsteps coming closer stopped near her.

“Hey, Nico! Nice to see you here.”

“Annabeth. Good to see you too,” Nico returned the greeting along with a small but warm smile.

“I didn’t know that you have a dog,” Annabeth said as Nico lifted the corgi up and pet its head.

“Oh, it’s not mine,” Nico said as he put the dog back. “Buttercup is… my friend’s dog. I’m just helping him while he’s away for a conference.”

Annabeth noticed the way Nico stuttered just a bit when saying _my friend_.

“Your friend? A friend at work?”

“Uhm. Not really,” Nico said but kept his eyes at the dog that he was petting. He stood up and shrugged his shoulders. “Just…a friend, you know.”

Annabeth was an observer. That’s why she knew from the way Nico avoiding her eyes and the slight hesitation in his voice that he didn’t really want to talk about this friend.

“Well, tell your friend that he got a really adorable dog,” Annabeth said, smiling at him.

Nico returned the smile and Annabeth realized something else. The smile looked…different. Looked more genuine.

The corgi barked, and started walking away from them. Annabeth gestured with her chin. “You better follow her if you don’t want to lose her.”

Nico nodded as he shoved his hands into the pocket of his jacket. “Yeah. So. I’ll see you around, Annabeth.”

Annabeth watched as Nico walked in wide steps, trying not to lose the dog.

 _It was a cute dog_ , Annabeth thought as she went back to her book.

*******

_**[4. the toothbrush]** _

Jason swallowed the aspirin along with one big gulp of water. He sighed, and silently cursed the project that had kept him awake until an ungodly hour last night. He put the aspirin back in the cabinet and closed the door.

That’s when he saw it. There were two toothbrushes in the holder on the sink. He knew that the black one is Nico’s. But the yellow one?

Jason shrugged his shoulders and left the bathroom. He made his way to the living area of the apartment, where Nico was sitting cross-legged on the couch.

“Did you find the aspirin?” Nico asked, not lifting his eyes up from the screen of his laptop.

Jason hummed a confirmation. “I’m gonna get going now. Thanks for letting me crash here last night, Neeks.”

“Anytime, Jase,”

Jason walked to the door while putting on his jacket. He opened the door, but before he stepped out, he turned his head to Nico.

“Hey, Neeks? Did Hazel stay the night here recently?”

This time Nico looked up at Jason. He pushed up the reading glasses that were perched on his nose.

“Uh… Yeah? But it was like… five or six weeks ago? She’s been really busy. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, nothing,” Jason shrugged a shoulder. “Just the toothbrush.”

“Huh?” Nico looked positively confused now. “The toothbrush?”

“I mean, the other toothbrush must be hers, right? Anyway, I’ll see you, Neeks. Bye!”

When Jason walked into his car, he already forgot about the toothbrush.

*******

_**[5. the smile]** _

“So, how’s life?” Piper asked once they got seated in the café.

In front of her, Nico shrugged his shoulders. He took off his jacket. “Nothing’s new at work. You know, same old. Mr. D is still annoying. And so is Sherman. But at least we know we can always count on Mitchell to keep things running smoothly as the way they should be.”

Piper hummed. They started talking about other stuff, their mutual friends, families and others, the kind of conversation that they usually had whenever they had a chance for their monthly coffee meeting.

“You know…” Piper said as she lifted her cup of latte. “You seemed a bit…different lately.”

Nico raised an eyebrow. “Different? What do you mean?”

“I mean-“

“No. I am _not_ losing weight.”

Piper’s eyes widened, and the next second, she laughed. “What? No! It wasn’t it. You don’t look like you’re losing weight. Why did you say so?”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Percy thought so.”

Piper smiled. “No. I mean, you do look different.”

“What kind of different?”

“A good kind of different.”

“Oh?”

Piper hummed. “You look happier. Your smile is more…genuine.”

Nico blinked. Piper watched in amusement as his cheeks turned a shade darker.

“Isn’t it supposed to be a good thing?” Nico asked.

“It _is_ , Neeks. It is really nice to see you happy.”

Nico shrugged his shoulders. “Thanks, I guess?”

“Any particular reason for that, though?”

Nico looked away from Piper, but the furious dark-cherry color of his cheeks couldn’t be hidden. Piper chuckled. A blushing Nico wasn’t something that people see every day.

“Well, anyway,” Piper said. “Have I told you the latest incident happen to Leo?”

Nico turned his head back to Piper. Piper could see the relief in his eyes.

“Not yet. I’m not actually surprised that he had another incident. But please, do tell me about it.”

Piper started telling the story of how Leo somehow made the smoke alarm in his apartment went off. Again. For the third time in one month. And as they talked about their mutual friends, their families, their work and other stuff, Piper couldn’t help but marvel, at how nice it was to see Nico looked happier, to see how his smile was wider and brighter.

*******

_**[+1. the body wash]** _

It’s a rare weekend where Hazel had some spare time from her graduate study so she could spend the night at Nico’s apartment. It’s been almost two months since the last time they had a sibling bonding-night. So tonight, while Hazel was taking a shower, Nico prepared the fluffiest blankets and pillows on his couch, ready for a night of watching movies and talking about everything and anything with his sister.

Nico was lounging on the couch, watching the banter between Jake Peralta and his colleagues when Hazel stepped into the room. She sat next to Nico, hair still damped from the shower that she just took. Without saying anything, Hazel placed a bottle of body wash on the coffee table.

“This isn’t yours, isn’t it?”

The tone of her voice made Nico turned his head from the TV screen to the bottle. He gasped a little once his eyes saw the bottle.

“And there’s also the shampoo, that I’m pretty sure is not yours.”

“Well, they’re in my bathroom, right?” Nico asked, voice a pitch higher than usual. Even though he’s facing Hazel, his eyes darted from the bottle to the space next to Hazel.

“Nico, you’re not answering my question.”

Nico made a small strangled sound. “What? I’m not allowed to try new stuff?”

“Again, you’re not exactly answering my question. And you are allowed to try new stuff. But I don’t think that’s the case.”

“Hmph.”

“And there were _two_ toothbrushes on the sink.”

Nico looked away, stubbornly fixed his gaze at the TV screen.

“Okay. You're right. Those stuff are not mine,” he mumbled, still refusing to look at Hazel.

Hazel smiled. She shifted closer to Nico and put gently put her hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay. I mean, you look happier since the last time I saw you. Piper and Annabeth also said the same thing.”

Nico’s head snapped towards her. “They said what, now?”

“They said you look happier. And I agree. I mean, even I can see it through our video calls, Neeks. That you look happier. You smile a lot more and your smile is brighter.”

Nico’s cheeks were tinted in red now that he was blushing. “Is it _that_ obvious?”

Hazel let out a small laugh. “Oh come on. I’ve told you. I, I mean all of us, we’re happy to see you happy.” She paused. Her smile turned into more like a teasing smirk now.

“But my guess is, whoever the owner of that is,” she gestured to the bottle on the coffee table, “Is he the one responsible for those smiles of yours?” She raised her eyebrows knowingly.

Nico huffed and rolled his eyes. But he took his phone from the end table next to the couch. Hazel waited as he scrolled through his phone. Just a few seconds later, Nico handed his phone to Hazel.

Hazel took it and looked at the screen. There was a picture of a guy, smiling brightly while holding a corgi close to him. His blond curly hair was a nice contrast to the sky-blue sweatshirt that he was wearing. Even through the phone screen, Hazel could see that the blue eyes were also smiling.

“His name is Will. Will Solace,” Nico said. “He’s doing his residency now, and he wants to be a pediatrician. Because he loves kids. And dogs. He loves dogs. And he smells like sunshine.”

Hazel smiled as she gave the phone back to Nico.

“He sounds lovely.”

Nico let out a huff as he took the phone. “He’s actually annoying. And he loves Star Wars more than he should.”

Still, Hazel could see the fond expression on his face as he looked at the phone.

“Well, does he make you happy though?”

Nico stayed quiet for a while, as he kept his eyes on his phone. But Hazel could see the soft smile and look of adoration in Nico’s eyes.

Nico slowly lifted his head up, meeting Hazel’s eyes.

His eyes twinkled and there was the softest of a smile painted on his lips as he answered Hazel.

“Yes, he does. He makes me really happy”

*******

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. Thank you for reading. Kudos and comments are always cherished and welcomed!  
> 2\. I was thinking of doing a companion for this fic, but from Will's POV (or maybe his friends' POVs)  
> 3\. Meet me also on Tumblr: thebluesideofmyworld


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